Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

As the correspondence makes clear, the HSE is provided with a contingency fund. It plans from year to year and takes part in an Estimates process every year. As the Deputy is well aware, the sum voted to that body is very substantial and gives it some creative choice to meet emergencies that arise. That is why we have a Health Service Executive. I have no evidence that at any stage funds available to the HSE were insufficient.

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